Fluff in the Aftermath, rewrite
by Miko1725
Summary: When the tattoos don't go away, Ryou and Keiichiro know that trouble is still on the horizon. With summer break in front of them, it's time for the girls to get in a little training for the upcoming battle. Originally written under different pen name.
1. The harsh Reality of First Loves

_Hello! Miko1725 here, or as some of you may know me, ARTANGEL KEI. Turns out '06 and '07 were pretty miserable years for me and I wasn't able to keep up with my writing. SO, I have started over with this account and am resurrecting a few of my older stories. This was one of my firsts, FLUFF IN THE AFTERMATH. For the most part, it is unchanged. However, that doesn't mean I'm not going back through and messin' with a few things. Anyway, enjoy!_

_**Fluff in the Aftermath**_

_A Fanfic by Kei-chan_

_**I DO NOT OWN, IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM, ANY OF THE TOKYO MEW MEW ORIGINAL STORYLINES OR CHARACTERS. I ONLY LAY CLAIM TO INCIDENTAL 'MARY SUE'S" THAT MAY APPEAR HEREIN. THANK YOU.**_

**Chapter 1: The harsh Reality of First Loves**

_This story is set, again, after Deep Blue is defeated. The aliens have left for the time being. It is the beginning of summer vacation…_

"You're making us do what!" I cried out in frustration. I was standing in the middle of the café in my uniform at the time. My friends, the other members of Tokyo Mew Mew, were gathered with me. I plopped down at a table and closed my eyes.

"Ichigo." I shivered at the sternness in Shirogane-san's voice. "This crisis may have been averted, but who knows what else may happen. The world may need Tokyo Mew Mew again and if it does, you girls need to be ready."

I sighed heavily and looked at the floor. I knew he was right- I hated it when he was right. The other girls didn't seem as put off by the idea as I was, so I threw caution to the wind and decided to join them. I looked over at Zakuro- the eldest of us girls. Even though I was technically the group leader, Zakuro was the example we followed; what she said went. I watched her uncross her arms and look at the guys. She asked them to go over what we would be doing again.

Akasaka-sama smiled in his normal, charming way. "We will all be spend the next month hiking through the mountains and whitewater canoeing. The first two weeks will be strictly hiking. We will camp in a new place every night, surviving only on what we can carry on our backs. At the end of the second week, a bus we chartered will pick us up and take us to the river where we'll whitewater canoe our way back. At the end of the last week the bus will be back to bring us home."

"It'll be a good experience for you all." I looked over at Shirogane-san, who had been quiet for most of the discussion.

"When do we leave?" I asked in defeat.

"Saturday morning, 8:30." I groaned. He had to be joking.

_**8:00, that same evening**_

As I walked home through the park that night all I could seem to think about was the trip- and how to tell Aoyama-kun that I wouldn't be around this summer. Just thinking about him made me blush. I touched the little cat bell around my neck and it jingled softly. It was my constant reminder. Most people don't find love until they're older, or maybe even never. How lucky was I to be in love by fourteen? I reached into my purse and took out my cell phone; his line rang busy. I continued on through the park.

It was a beautiful night with stars splattered across a navy canvas. There was a slight breeze blowing that caused the waters of the lake to ripple softly in the moonlight. The normally loud sounds of the city drifted into obscurity. How I would have loved to have been there with my Aoyama-kun…

I heard footsteps behind me. I turned, hoping to see Aoyama, but instead I found myself looking into a pair of light blue eyes.

"Shirogane-san! What are you doing here?" To say I was surprised to see him would have been an understatement.

"You forgot this at the café." He extended his hand and revealed the pendant I used to transform into Mew Ichigo. He lectured me for a moment about my irresponsibility. I apologized and reached out for the pendant. "It's beautiful tonight," he said gently. Our hands met as I took the pendant from him. I blushed a little, trying not to get too freaked out. I was not feeling the need to turn into a little black cat!

"As long as I'm here, could I walk you home?" I blushed deeper, all the while yelling at myself for doing it. I nodded, not really sure what to say. We continued on through the park. As we walked, I glanced up at Shirogane-san out of the corner of my eye. The setting sun accented his golden hair, making it almost appear to glow. If he didn't scowl so much… I might think he was kinda cute… I blushed deeper still.

Shirogane must have spotted something up ahead that I hadn't because he stopped abruptly and turned pale. He turned to face me, blocking the path ahead.

"You don't want to go this way, it'll take too long." He grabbed my hand and started pulling me away from the area.

"Shirogane, stop it. What is going on up there that you don't want me to know about?" I pushed past him and, no more than two feet from where we'd originally stopped, I saw it. I couldn't believe it- there had to be another explanation. I felt my body grow heavy as I sank to my knees. Aoyama was with another girl- and they were kissing.

I burst into tears. What else could I do? I felt as though someone had surgically removed my heart with OUT anesthetic and then used a sledge hammer on it a dozen times. I felt like I was outside of my body, watching all of this like it was a bad television show… Shirogane knelt down beside me and stroked my hair. "Come on, let me take you home."

He helped me to my feet and we walked back a ways to wear his motorcycle was waiting at the park's entrance. I didn't feel much like walking any more anyway. I wrapped my arms around him as we prepared to drive off and buried my face in his back. Perhaps I would need this trip after all…


	2. Weird Dreams in the Wake of Heartache

_Konban wa Minna-San! As per the original story, O/C Akasaka Ami is going to make an appearance as their travel guide through the woods. R/R please__!_

**Chapter 2: Weird Dreams in the Wake of Heartache**

I glanced over at my alarm clock: three-thirty in the morning. Grumbling, I threw myself out of bed and plopped down at the dressing table across the room. Stuck in the mirrors frame was that little photo from the kiosk at the exhibit we'd been to on our first date; I quickly pulled it down and slammed it on the table, harder than was really necessary. The smile that used to make me feel all warm and happy was now making me angry and heartbroken. How; how could Aoyama-kun do this to me…? After everything we'd been through and everything we risked. I really thought, really believed, he loved me. The slight warmth fled when the image of that scene in the park replayed sharply in my mind.

Sleep seemed highly unlikely, but frustration finally led to flopping on the bed and burying my face deep into the plush pillow there. It was in the shape of a strawberry, a Christmas present from Akasaka-sama and Shirogane. That was enough, at least in that moment, to cheer me up a little: as frustrating as things got, as rotten as Shirogane could be to me sometimes, the little extended family I'd found with them, Retasu, Mint, Purin and Zakuro meant everything to me.

Just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard it: a little bitty, grey cat with a green bandana tied around its neck was pawing at my bedroom window.

"What are you doing here," I hissed as Alto jumped from the window to my bed. Even though I'd seen it a thousand times before, watching the little grey cat turn back into Shirogane was always really cool to see: a small glimmer of light growing brighter and larger until it dispersed and the tall, blonde annoyance in my life stood in his place.

"How are you Strawberry?"

I looked at the floor.  
"Fine."

"Liar."

Shirogane stood and walked over the bed. He knelt in front of me.

"Ichigo, I was worried about you," he admitted after a pause. I saw him blush a little. He reached up and touched my face gently, carefully pulling it towards him. Was he going to kiss me…?

**BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!**

I shot upright in my bed: my alarm clock… it had been a dream! My heart was still racing. What had that been about! I rolled out of bed and went to the mirror to put my hair up. It was getting late and I had a lot of packing to do. I tore through my clothing drawers, searching for old clothes and a bathing suit to wear. I finally came across a really old pair of jeans and some t-shirts buried near the bottom of the last drawer. These would have to do. I threw everything into a large hiking backpack that had belonged to Dad.

"Morning, Mom and Dad." They were both sitting down to breakfast when I came out of my room. I propped the bag up by the door and joined them. Dad was sitting with his arms crossed… He was in one of his moods again. I looked over at my mother who smiled pleasantly and offered me some food.

"Don't mind him," she said, "he's just having separation anxiety over you leaving."

"I just don't like the idea of my little girl being off in the woods for a month Sakura…" he muttered.

"It's just me and my friends Dad. What's the big deal?"

"Two of your friends happen to be older MALES." I decided it was time to bite my tongue.

"Now dear, I've met both of those gentlemen and they're very nice, respectable young men." Mom winked at me. It was nice to always have her on my side.

"Have you had a chance to say good-bye to Aoyama yet?"

I looked down at my food and nodded weakly: "yeah, he said good-bye to me last night at the park."

"That's good! I'm sure he'll be upset that you won't be around for a couple of weeks, just like I'm sure you'll be missing him. You know…"

I stopped listening about this point; Mom had really gotten on this kick lately of pointing out how she and Dad meet when they were are age and that they've been nearly inseparable since and blah blah blah... I resolved to tell her what had happened when I returned from this little adventure we were all being dragged on. Right now, I wasn't really in the mood to deal with a lot of motherly sympathy.

The rest of breakfast was pretty uneventful. Just as we went to clear off the table, there was a knock on the door. Mom excused me to go answer it.

"Shirogane," I said in surprise. My heart thumped as my dream came to mind… I could see him going to kiss me… I blushed and quickly regained my composure. "What are you doing at my house?" Shirogane shrugged, saying he just wanted to see how I was doing after last night. I looked down at the floor and bit my lip. "Fine," I lied. Mom stuck her head around the corner and told me to go ahead and go with him. It was almost eight as it was. Shirogane grabbed my bag and tossed it over his shoulder.

"Let's go, Strawberry."

We walked together to the café in silence. I guess neither one of us really knew what to say anyway.

"Thank you for last night Shirogane," I finally said in an effort to break the silence.

"It wasn't anything," he replied simply without so much as glancing at me. It was frustrating. Maybe last night's kindness had just been a fluke. "Besides, you don't look all that great when you've been crying." I glared at him. It had definitely been a fluke!

"Hey, Ichigo," he said after a while. "You should cheer up. This trip is going to be really fun… it'll be nice for all of us to hang out without the pressure of needing to save the world and all."

I looked up at him as we walked out of the corner of my eye. What was he really trying to say to me? I shook my head in frustration: what was I thinking anyway! I was still having Aoyama-kun related heartache issues and here I was drooling over my boss; what the heck was wrong with me? I suddenly became aware of fingers rubbing my cat ears:

"Is something on your mind, Ichigo?" My whole body turned red with embarrassment. I laughed nervously and said that it was nothing. We continued on our way.

**8:30 AM, Café Mew Mew**

The bus was already there and being loaded when we arrived. I tried to avoid eye contact with Mint- that all-knowing smile on her face came from assumptions about Shirogane and me arriving together that morning. It was weird, standing there and looking at the closed café where we'd spent so much time over the last year. Of course, we'd be back in a few weeks and things would be back to normal: Mint sitting and sipping tea instead of working, Retasu breaking every plate she touches, Purin performing ever dangerous stunts around a klutzy Retasu, Zakuro's cold indifference to the customers, Akasaka-sama's delicious baking and, of course, Shirogane picking on me non-stop. The only change would be my boyfriend no longer visiting me almost every afternoon. That realization was cold, and stung a little. I paused before boarding the bus and sitting near the back:

"Good bye, Aoyama-kun…"

It didn't take too long to get my mind off of things. An hour on a bus with four other wired girls and two guys in desperate need of a vacation lead to some wacky things: Purin couldn't resist doing her tricks and stunts on the bus, much to Retasu's dismay. She kept trying to stop her, but Purin is like a charging bull once she gets started! Mint popped up from the seat behind me and got real close to my ear:

"So, you walked to the bus today with Shirogane-san?" I turned around quickly and told her to shush. Retasu and Purin stopped bickering and crowded over to where I was sitting. I looked over at Shirogane in desperation, but all he did was turn red and start talking to Akasaka-sama about some genetic gibberish.

"Yeah, Ichigo, tell us what was up with that?" Zakuro smiled at me with that wise-beyond-her-years look that she always had. I sank lower into my seat.

"He was just looking out for me," I finally said, hoping to kill their curiosity. "Aoyama and I sorta broke up."

"We know actually," said Mint sitting back. I stare at her blankly.

"Shirogane-san told us earlier," added Purin. I turned to glare at Shirogane.

"You jerk! That wasn't your news to share." He wouldn't look me in the eye, which only fuelled my anger.

"Hey, I just didn't want it to come up in conversation and hurt you." I saw him glare briefly at Mint for spilling the beans.

"Ichigo," I looked to Akasaka-sama who was smiling gently at me, "you must believe me when I say Ryou only had your best interest at heart when he told us. Don't be mad at him." I sighed and agreed to calm down. It's not like I didn't want my friends to know or anything, I just wanted to be the one to tell them- when I was ready.

"You're really over sensitive some times," Shirogane muttered. That was it. THWACK. I hit him over the head with my purse. The whole bus erupted in laughter.

"You deserved that one Ryou. You shouldn't have teased her when she was upset like that," commented Akasaka-sama as Shirogane rubbed the welt on his head. He muttered something about just teasing and changed the subject.

**10:30 AM, Start of Hiking Trail**

"A mountain," squealed a terrified Retasu. She was looking at the massive structure in the not-so-far distance:

"Yes, there's nothing like a continuous uphill climb to strengthen leg muscles and to build endurance." Shirogane was unloading things. I stepped off the bus and shielded my eyes from the bright sun. There were barely any clouds at all and the sound of rushing water could be heard nearby. A soft breeze was almost whistling through the trees and any and all stressful thoughts and emotions just seemed to float away with it; it was amazing.

"Okay kiddies, let's get going!" I jumped at the sound of the new voice. There was a tall woman with long auburn hair and thin, red rimmed glasses standing beside Akasaka-sama. She was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt and her hair was pulled back in a tight braid. She held a bamboo walking stick in her hand.

"Allow me to introduce my cousin, Ami. She's a botanist taking some time off from work and has offered to lead us on our expedition. She's got an extensive history with this sort of thing." Ami smiled pleasantly at us.

"It's certainly a pleasure to meet all of you," she began. "Keiichiro has told me much about you all. Please, let's all be seated. I want to go over some basic things with you:" we sat in a circle on the grass. "These next couple of weeks will be hiking. In addition to your sleeping bags and clothing, you will also be carrying some of the supplies: food, cooking equipment, the tarps for sleeping under, and other items that we will divide up in a moment." Ami must have talked to us for about a half an hour regarding what we were all in charge of and some vital safety tips.

"Last, but not least, we will operate on a buddy system. Keiichiro and I have selected the teams: Purin and Retasu, Zakuro and Mint, Keiichiro and myself, and Ryou and Ichigo."

"Nani yo!" Shirogane and I both shouted at the same time.

"Keiichiro, why did you pair me with Ichigo?"

"You're no prize either," I snapped at him.

"You two could stand to get along a little better," Akasaka-sama replied simple. I put my face in my hands and groaned. "In addition to looking out for your buddy," he continued, addressing everyone, "you will each take a turn leading the expedition with your buddy. You will share the map and compass for the day and determine how often and where we break." I allowed myself to fall back on the grass and closed my eyes. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad…

"Don't be so lazy, Ichigo, we're getting our stuff together." I gritted my teeth. Maybe it would be that bad…


	3. Nature's Paint Brush

**Chapter 3: The True Art of Nature's Paint Brush**

I couldn't help but take in the beauty of our surroundings as we walked: the sky was illuminated with the warmth of the sun and the trees rustled softly in the cool breeze that rolled in off the river waters; birds chipped happily in the trees; the water gurgled and grumbled as it crashed against rocks and low-hanging tree branches that hung like curtains over the banks. I heard a twig snap behind me, pulling my thoughts back to where I was and what I was doing.

By the time we stopped for the night I felt as though my legs would fall off. I plopped down on the ground letting my bag drop beside me:

"Come on Ichigo," Mint teased. "Even I'm not tired from that walk." Zakuro patted her on the shoulder, saying she was impressed. Of course, the hand on her shoulder sent Mint's body slumping to the ground beside mine. We laughed.

"You girls set up the tarps while we make dinner," smiled Akasaka-sama.

"It's so beautiful here," Retasu murmured.

"Yeah," added Purin, "the sky looks like its on fire."

"Funny how nature can make all those colors flow together flawlessly…" smiled Zakuro.

"Hey, Akasaka-sama," said Lettuce suddenly. "There are only two tarps here. We forgot the rest."

"No, there's only two," replied Ami. "Four people per tarp. It makes the load easier to carry. Besides, it gets cold out at night. You'll be thankful to curl up with other warm bodies." She rejoined Akasaka-sama at the gas lit stove.

"You didn't decide who was sleeping where too, did you?" I asked nervously. Some how, I felt I knew the answer.

"Groups share a tarp with one other group. Keiichiro and I are in one tent with Purin and Retasu. You and Ryou are in the other tarp with Mint and Zakuro." I could have died right then and there.

Shirogane quietly walked over and picked up one of the tarps and some rope. "Here," he said, "I'll take care of it." A shiver ran through me as his hand brushed against mine as it reached for the rope. For a moment, it seemed like he paused before retreating, but I couldn't really be sure. Before the idea of the sleeping arrangement could really settle in and irk me, I shivered. Ami wasn't kidding: for a early summer evening, it was starting to get a little chilly.

**BED TIME**

Shirogane seemed a little uncomfortable with the situation himself, so I decided not to take my frustrations at it out on him. Truth be told, I didn't think I would mind so much… I blushed and quickly buried my head into the pillow. Dad would freak if he knew this, I thought. I heard a hushed squeal of terror beside me. Mint all but jumped into my sleeping bag.

"There is a huge… gigantic… monstrous…"

"Bug." Grumbled Zakuro. She held up the beetle to Mint, who promptly squealed again.

"Get off of me," whined Shirogane. I hardly realized that both Mint and I had jumped onto his sleeping bag when Zakuro presented the bug. Zakuro laughed at us and released the beetle outside of the tarp. Mint crawled into her own bag and zipped it all the way over her head.

"Mint you look ridiculous," tease Zakuro as she slipped back into her own sleeping bag.

"Maybe so," came Mint's muffled voice, "but I feel bug proof in here!"

"Good night guys," called Akasaka-sama. "We're getting up at dawn so I'd suggest you get some sleep."

Silence. I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of breathing around me; the sound of the water rushing in the distance; the leaves rustling in the breeze; it was all very relaxing. I opened one eye and looked around, trying to adjust to the lack of light. There was a faint yellow glow outside our tarp from the moonlight that seemed inviting, so I quietly slipped out of my sleeping bag and crawled outside.

The moonlit sky was magnificent. I don't think I've even seen the stars so clearly before. I sat on a rock overlooking the city below. Everything seemed so small… insignificant. I felt small and insignificant. Suddenly, I didn't feel so bad about Aoyama and me breaking up. What was first love in the grand scheme of life anyway? Every thing seemed to be in perspective for that brief moment in time.

I crawled back into my sleeping bag and yawned. If the next day was going to be the same as that day, I would need my sleep. Mint and Zakuro were completely dead asleep, curled up on the other side of the tarp. I glanced over at Shirogane. He looked like a little boy all curled up with wisps of golden hair in his face. My heart thumped. Blushing, I buried myself in the sleeping bag and let myself drift off towards sleep.

**6 A.M.**

The suns rays warmed my face, alerting me that the night had ended. I glanced around. A few bodies were stirring, but no one seemed to be up yet. I stretched and rolled over.

"Good morning Ichigo," whispered Shirogane. We were lying face to face. I blushed but couldn't bring myself to move: if I freaked, every one would wake up and that would be much, much, worse.

"Are the others up yet?" I shook my head. He smiled happily at me. I couldn't remember a time when he seemed to glow so much. I couldn't help but wonder why he was so happy. I wouldn't have time to ask though. He quietly got up and snuck out of the tarp.

"Wanna take a quick swim?" he extended his hand to me. My mind was screaming at me to say no… to say I was too tired… to say anything… Yet something else, something stronger willed, made me reach out and accept his hand.

By the time we had changed and begun the short walk to the river, Akasaka-sama and Ami were starting to get up. It was 6:30 a.m. Breakfast was at 7.

"Oh my god this is cold," I whimpered as I slipped into the water. Shirogane laughed and jumped right it. I stood there, shivering waist deep in water, dripping from my head all the way back into the river. He laughed at me, floating on his back in the cold river. "I hate you so much," I glared.

"You'll get over it. You always do." He teased, walking over to me.

"What are you doing," I asked suspiciously; he had a strange, mischievous grin on his face that was making me more than a little uncomfortable. Before it really registered, two strong arms lifted me up and chucked me deeper into the river where Shirogane had just been floating. I squealed and began treading water while forcing my now sopping wet hair out of my face. He was outright laughing now and, much to my amusement, had his guard down. I moved quickly and, before he knew what hit him, had jumped onto his shoulders and forced him under the water.

"Oh, so we're going to play that game are we," he said with a smirk after coming back up for air. The look in his face made me smile and I started to swim away, pretending to be scared silly.

"What are you so happy about anyway?"

We were standing on the flat, rocky bank of the river now, drying off a little before heading back in to camp. He paused for a moment and, if I didn't know better, was blushing just a little.

"It's nothing okay." He looked back towards camp. "We shouldn't stay down here too long…" I sighed but nodded. As I walked away, I could have sworn I heard him whisper something. I paused and turned back to him.

"What did you say?" Shirogane sighed and walked up to me. He tussled my hair and smiled:

"It's nothing. Let's go get something to eat. Think Keiichiro can cook? You haven't tried Ami's pancakes yet!"


	4. Ryou's POV:Nature's Paint Brush, Part II

**Chapter 4: Bonus! Chapter 3.5 Ryou's POV**

**Chapter 3.5: Ryou's POV**

The sun felt warm on my skin and the gentle caress of the wind was soothing; Ami had led us well into the forest at this point and, much to my relief, the girls seemed to be getting a little more comfortable with the idea. We aren't actively trying to make their lives difficult and it's not fair to them; they didn't ask for all this nonsense. It is a necessary sacrifice though and it was my personal mission to make sure they could safely go on with their missions, even if it means putting them out a little bit from time to time. That guilt was easily replaced with comfort when I looked ahead and saw them walking along the path- laughing and talking. It was so nice to see them able to relax and enjoy each other's company for a change.

My thoughts drifted to Ichigo: I was worried about her, more so than the others. After what had happened the previous night with that jerk Masaya… How he could have passed up a girl like Ichigo was, well, beyond me. Sure she could be a little whiny at times, maybe a little nearsighted when she should be looking at the big picture; but she was a teenage girl after all, and a very brave and intelligent one at that. I suddenly felt grateful to be at the back of the line; it made it easier to conceal the blush that was spreading across my face:

God, I had been so stupid on the bus; why did I always have to torment her; and, more importantly, why did she keep putting up with it. She gets me. I don't like it, but it's true. Keiichiro and Ichigo: The only two that have truly been privy to my past and both have kept the confidence shared with them. She'd offered no pity, no words of comfort; she knew I didn't want them; but she got me, and told me she'd work hard. As if it hadn't been hard enough to remain distant from the girl I'd been falling for since Keiichiro and I had ever talked to her directly—now it was damn near impossible. Unfortunately, that meant I just had to try harder and suffer welts on my head as a result. Every time, I want to apologize, I truly do; I am like my father: a cold scientist too involved in work to really entertain much of a social life, let alone a romantic one. Even if, and that was a big if, Ichigo was interested in me it wouldn't be fair to pursue her: I could never show her how much I cared for her, no matter how deeply I felt it.

**SOME TIME LATER**

By the time we stopped for the night, the girls seemed exhausted. Of course, we had walked almost eight hours throughout the day. Ichigo slumped to the ground, her backpack falling beside her. I stifled a laugh.

Keiichiro and Ami were going to start dinner while the girls set up the tarps… I leaned against a tree and watched. They were completely mesmerized by the sunset and the surroundings.

"Hey, Akasaka-sama," I heard Retasu say suddenly: "There are only two tarps here. We forgot the rest."

"No, there's only two," replied Ami, "four people per tarp. It makes the load easier to carry. Besides, it gets cold out at night. You'll be thankful to curl up with other warm bodies." She rejoined Keiichiro at the gas lit stove. Damn, I thought, I hope Keiichiro didn't do what I'm thinking he did…

"You didn't decide who was sleeping where too, did you?" I heard Ichigo asked nervously. Somehow, I felt she was worried about the answer too.

"Groups share a tarp with one other group: Keiichiro and I are in one tent with Purin and Retasu. You and Ryou are in the other tarp with Mint and Zakuro." Ichigo fell back into Retasu's arms blushing heavily. Not sure what else to do, I quickly walked over and picked up the tarps and rope:

"I'll take care of it," I muttered being sure to study the ground; I couldn't let them see me blush too.

****BED TIME****

I think it's safe to say that both Ichigo and I avoided each other for the better part of the evening. The whole situation was uncomfortable but, truth be told, not an unpleasant thought: spending the night beside the red head, waking up and letting her be the first thing I saw; I moved to the far end of the tarp.

"Oh, no," Mint teased, "you have to sleep next to your buddy!" Zakuro raised her eyebrow and stared, half smirking, at us. I met her smirk with a dark glare and Ichigo sunk deep into her sleeping bag. I muttered a quick word of acceptance and scooted around to rest in between Mint and Ichigo. Just as I'd curled up tight in my bag, I felt the crushing weight of one of my tent-mates as she landed square on top of me:

"There is a huge… gigantic… monstrous…"

"Bug." Grumbled Zakuro. She held up the beetle up which prompted additional screams, and the addition of more weight to my poor back:

"Get off," I whined. Both girls apologized and scooted off. Zakuro laughed at them and released the beetle outside of the tarp. Mint crawled into her own bag and zipped it all the way over her head.

"Mint you look ridiculous," tease Zakuro as she slipped back into her own sleeping bag.

"Maybe so," came Mint's muffled voice, "but I feel bug proof in here!"

"Good night guys," called Keiichiro from the other tarp. "We're getting up at dawn so I'd suggest you get some sleep." The camp site grew silent. I closed my eyes and attempted to relax to the melodious sounds around me- breathing, rushing water, the wind in the trees… it was all so peaceful. And then… I felt my heart thump… Ichigo… I rolled over and noticed that she was missing. I heard a twig snap outside and peaked out.

There she was, her hair burning red like fire in the summer moonlight; everything else seemed to pale in comparison. She walked to a flat rock and sat, seemingly deep in thought, and I was quite content to watch her from a distance. Content, but not overly happy; everything inside was screaming to go join her, talk to her, enjoy her company in the solitude of the night. My brain however, over-rode my emotions, reminding me why I could only love her from a distance. After a small eternity, she stood; I rushed to get back in my sleeping bag and quickly forced myself to rest as though asleep; I felt her come in and crawl back into her bag and, for a moment, felt her eyes on me. Then, there was calm and quiet: I felt her lie down and soon heard her gently breathing as she slept.

****6 A.M. ****

I stretched as the warm rays of the sun warmed my face and looked up briefly to see if anyone else was up yet; all I heard was a muffled moan from Ichigo. I lay back down a watched her as she rolled over, facing me, and mumbled something in her sleep. A wisp of hair fell in front of her face… I gently reached out and brushed it to the side. She began to stir and I quickly pulled my hand away.

"Good morning Ichigo," I whispered. She blushed. I smiled at her… which kind of freaked her out. So I quietly snuck out of the tarp and suggested we go for a swim. I almost expected her to say sure and then immediately fall back asleep, but I was pleasantly surprised.

By the time we had changed and begun the short walk to the river, Keiichiro and Ami were starting to get up. Breakfast would be soon and we couldn't be gone long.

"Oh my god this is cold," she whimpered; I laughed and jumped right it. She stood there, shivering waist deep in water, dripping from her head all the way back into the river. I laughed and leaned back to float a bit in the deeper water: "I hate you so much," she glared.

"You'll get over it. You always do." I teased, walking towards her.

"What are you doing," she asked suspiciously; she never saw it coming until I had her scooped up and in my arms. She squealed, though I couldn't tell if it was a happy sound or not, as I tossed her out into the river. I was so distracted laughing that I never noticed the gleam of revenge in her eyes. A surprisingly strong Ichigo jumped onto my back, dunking me under the cold water.

"Oh, so we're going to play that game are we?" She smiled in a "just try and catch me" sort of way and the chase was on.

"What are you so happy about anyway?"

That internal battle played out quickly in my head: even if I could bring myself to tell the girl how I felt, 6:30 in the morning in freezing water in the middle of nowhere didn't really strike me as the right place and time:

"It's nothing okay." I looked back towards camp. "We shouldn't stay down here too long…"

Ichigo seemed rather disappointed with my response and began heading back to shore.

"It was just amazing to wake up to your face," I whispered without thinking; I quickly caught myself and, pushed to blush away from my face right before turned back to me.

"What did you say?" She was blushing slightly. I sighed, shook my head, and walked up to tussled her wet hair.

"It's nothing. Let's go get something to eat. Think Keiichiro can cook? You haven't tried Ami's pancakes yet!"

I looked back at the river we'd just been playing in; this was a memory I would file away in a series of others to treasure when I lost her to another, one more worthy of her than Masaya, for good. A sudden sadness filled me as I prepared to go back to acting normal.


	5. A Hike in the Woods

**Chapter 4: A Hike in the Woods is No Walk in the Park**

The promising sunrise of that morning was slowly being compromised as we finished up breakfast; Clouds were rapidly covering the sky and the wind seemed to have shifted. I cut into the pancake on my plate again; Shirogane had not been kidding when he'd complimented Ami's cooking: the meal was made with an egg substitution and soy milk since neither needed to be refrigerated; well, technically the soy milk did, but only after being opened and Ami had no problem using it up for our food.

"So, who will be leading us today," asked Retasu. Ami took a bite and pointed to Shirogane and me with her bowl.

"Ryou and Ichigo are up."

"Well, at least we'll be taking a lot of breaks," teased Mint. I stuck my tongue out at her before Shirogane smiled and reminded her that he would keep me in line. I hung my head and sighed-this was going to royally suck.

"We should get going soon guys… We have to get to a certain point today and it would be best to get there before the storm hits." Ami handed us a map and two compasses and wished us luck.

"Alright Strawberry," said Shirogane, flicking me in the forehead. "Let's look over this map." I scowled at him before turning my attentions to the task at hand: "So, we need to get from here to this spot here…" He pointed to the "x" marked for the day- roughly eight miles northeast… I felt sweat beads start to form on my forehead. The map might as well have been in English; I couldn't understand a thing on it.

"Ichigo," I looked up at him. With a look of exasperation he sighed and moved to sit on the ground:

"Look," He sat the map down on the ground and signaled for me to sit beside him. "This is where we are right now," he said pointing at a little red dot on the map. "And we need to get to this "x" right here," he pointed to another spot on the map. "Now, if you look at the map key, you can see that we need to head in a Northeastern direction to get to the next camping spot." He pointed to the Compass I'd placed around my neck. "Which direction are we facing?"

"North…" I said, hoping I was correct. He nodded. "So we need to go that way," I asked pointing to the right a little bit." He nodded again. I smiled excitedly. I'd gotten it. I understood. I laughed a little with excitement and wrapped my arms around his neck. I pulled away, trying to hide my blushing face from view.

"Okay, now let's get going." He quickly got up quickly and walked away, never looking back.

**LUNCH**

"Well, at least it looks like the weather is holding out for us," commented Zakuro as she ate her sandwich. We all nodded in agreement. The sky looked like it could burst at a moment's notice, but it was definitely holding back. Purin shivered as the cold wind enveloped us. Ami suggested that it may be time to pull out our warmer clothing for the rest of the walk. I turned pale.

"Don't tell me you forgot a sweater or jacket Ichigo," asked Lettuce with a concerned look on her face.

"That's just like you Ichigo," remarked Mint. I looked around at my friends- I had hardly realized that they had all pulled out something warm to wear. How could I have forgotten? I shivered.

"Here." I felt something warm cover my back and shoulders. Shirogane had placed his jacket on me. Mint dropped her food in her lap and the others simple stared at us; mid-chew, mid-bite, and slack-jawed. Shirogane looked around while I blushed a bright red. "What?" he asked.

"You're just being awfully nice to Ichigo… It's abnormal," Akasaka-sama smiled.

"Completely," teased Zakuro.

I hung my head and quickly bit into my pita bread and peanut butter sandwich _(a/n: hey, that's what I had to eat… if I had to suffer, so do they -.-). _

Shirogane mumbled something about trying to be nice and moved away from the group to finish his food. The others went back to their conversations and jokes. They hardly noticed me get up and walk away.

"Shirogane," I said as I approached with caution. He had a tendency to go from being super nice to me to being downright cruel. I wasn't sure which way he'd go this time.

"What do you want Strawberry?"

"Thanks for the jacket." I smiled at him and pulled it tightly around me. It was warm and… it kinda smelt like him… I blushed a little. He gave a little half smile and said it was no big deal. He'd have done it for any of the girls. I bit the side of my cheek and raised an eyebrow. Why did he have to be so difficult?

"I know…" I sat beside him, much to his surprise. "So, where do we go from here?"

"What do you mean," he stammered- a little red. I gave him a funny look.

"The map, baka. Where do we go from here?" He got a little redder with embarrassment. "What did you think I meant?"

"Nothing… Where's the map?"

**THAT EVENING**

Zakuro, Mint, Shirogane and I crawled under our tarp, sopping wet. Our luck had run out about one or two miles ago… Fortunately our packs were water safe! The others were safely tucked away in their tarp. Dinner was the least of our current concerns… right now we needed to dry off… and warm up.

"Uh… Shirogane," said Mint sweetly. He turned to see the three of us looking at him intently. "We need to change and dry off…" He turned bright red.

"You can't possibly want me to… but it's… I'm soaked too you know!" His argument was futile. We quickly kicked him out. From inside the tarp we could hear him talking to Akasaka-sama… who had been kicked out as well.

"Okay Shirogane! You can come in," called Zakuro. We were in the process of toweling our hair dry when a drenched, annoyed looking Shirogane crawled back into the tarp.

"Okay ladies," he said crossing his arms. "Exactly what are you going to do while I change?" We slowly turned and looked at each other.

"I suppose we could just turn our backs to him…" suggested Zakuro.

"We could make him change inside his sleeping bag," added Mint.

"Err… let's just turn and give him some privacy like Zakuro said," I opted. We thought about a moment longer before agreeing to the idea. I could hear him grind his teeth as we simply turned around and started brushing our hair in unison.

Things sort of calmed down after we were all dry and fed (Ami prepared some hot food called "calzones"). We couldn't see the sky for a rough estimate of what time it was… but according to Mint's watch, it was about 8:30. That was when we heard the first clap of thunder.

"You've gotta be kinding me," I cried out in terror. "I hate thunder!" I buried myself deep in my sleeping bag.

"Ichigo, for the last year and a half, you went up against monsters and aliens on a daily basis. Do not tell me you're scared of a little thunder." Another clap of thunder, louder this time, sent Mint flying into her sleeping bag. I peeked out, and Zakuro shook her head.

"Night guys," she commented rolling over. I saw Mint come out of hiding and attempt to fall asleep. I lay there, shivering with every rumble the sky produced.

"Relax Ichigo." Shirogane. I'd almost forgotten he was there. "If you let it be, thunder can be quite soothing to listen to." He lay in his bag on his back and placed his hands under his head. "Just listen." I copied him and closed my eyes. The sound of beating water against the tarp started to dwindle and the loud booming noises slowly faded into gentle rumblings. After a time, I could hear the soft sound of breathing around me… Suddenly, I felt very safe. Curled up in a little ball, I felt myself slowly drift to sleep.


	6. A Mountain to Climb

**Chapter 5:**

_Ami's Advice Hit's Home with Ichigo_

"We're here at last," smiled Ami as we approached the edge of the woods. There was a backwoods road leading higher into the mountain. We all dropped our bags and rested for a moment. "The bus should be here any minute," she continued.

"Why are we getting on the bus?" asked Mint, "it's only been a week."

"We're doing something special today. The bus will bring us back here tonight." Akasaka-sama smiled pleasantly at us.

"What is it?" cheered Purin with excitement.

"We're going rock climbing," responded Shirogane with a smile. This was obviously something he enjoyed since he seldom showed enthusiasm for anything. I sighed and hung my head. Why couldn't we ever do anything I was good at? How depressing…

"We're joining a wilderness group for their monthly climb. It'll be a great experience for you guys." Ami smiled at us and put her hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry. The first time I did this I was only a little older than you… and I only got four feet off of the ground before I panicked and could go any higher." She laughed a little at the memory before walking towards the bus that had just pulled up.

"You know," Akasaka-sama said to me quietly, "you and Ami are very similar. Maybe you should talk to her." I looked at him curiously. I had hardly noticed that I'd been kind of reclusive and quiet that week and it made me feel awkward suddenly; I hadn't wanted to call attention to myself and how I was feeling but it seemed as though I'd failed. All I could do was sigh and nod.

"Ami," I called after her. She turned to look at me and I smiled nervously. "Could I talk to you on the bus ride up?" She smiled kindly and nodded but it did little ease my nerves.

"What's up Ichigo," she asked as we settled into the back of the bus. I asked her how much she knew about us and she admitted that she was more or less in on the whole Project Mew Mew thing. I looked at the floor and tried to find the words to begin:

"Well… you see…" I began. I relayed the story of how I'd met Aoyama-kun. I told her how he'd discovered my secret and accepted it; I told her how we had come to discover that he was the Blue Knight, a mysterious hero who always showed up in the nick of time to protect me; I told her of that final battle when he had become the enemy and nearly destroyed the world, but that the battle had been won by our love for each other; and then, I told her about that night in the park, how I'd seen Aoyama kissing that other girl. She sat and listened to me.

Her genuine interest and concern surprised me: she sat by me near the back of the bus listening intently to everything I said, nodding or frowning occasionally. She sighed deeply and leaned back into the seat and looked up as though she was pondering the best way to answer me:

"Listen Ichigo," she finally said; "I understand- believe me. It hurts like hell when that special relationship hits the wall, so to speak. You and Aoyama-san clearly had something special. However, just because you had that experience together doesn't mean you have to stay together forever. Maybe Aoyama felt that way but couldn't bring himself to break up with you? He may have been acting out of confusion, or fear… who knows but, Ichigo, you owe it to yourself to talk to him." She smiled calmly at me and gave me a quick hug. "Life… it doesn't get easier Ichigo."

"Gee that's comforting!"

"Isn't it just?"

"This is amazing," murmured Zakuro as we stepped off of the bus an hour or so later. It was probably around ten or eleven in the morning and the sun was warm and bright. My friends were simply enamored with the view around them- but I couldn't appreciate it at that moment. There, no more than a stone's throw away from me, was Aoyama-kun… This could NOT be happening, I thought loudly as I turned my head; if I was lucky, really lucky, he wouldn't notice me.

No such luck was with me that morning apparently.

"Ichigo…" I wanted to turn and run back onto the bus and stay there all day… He called my name again and approached me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him quietly.

"I'm a member of this wilderness group. We do this rock climb about once a month or so." He couldn't look me in the eye… "Why did you leave without telling me?" It was my turn to avoid eye contact.

"I saw you Aoyama-kun… with that other girl… that night in the park." His eyes grew wide and he turned a deep red. He whispered my name and reached for me, but I shrugged his hand away. Aoyama-kun looked up and took a couple steps back. I hadn't realized Shirogane had come up behind me.

"Are you okay Ichigo," he asked me, never taking his eyes off Aoyama-kun. I nodded and he stood by me until Aoyama-kun hung his head and rejoined his group. Without thinking about it, I turned and buried my face in Shirogane's chest. He seemed surprised at first but after a moment wrapped his arms tenderly around me.

"Come on Strawberry," he said attempting to sound annoyed. "Don't do this." His hand came up and stroked my hair. "You're not going to have any fun at all if you cry all day." That's right… I'd completely forgotten where we were and what we were doing for a moment! The wilderness guide was gathering everyone around him to go over techniques and basic climbing instructions.

"Best thing to do: distract yourself, and there is nothing more distracting than avoiding a hard fall from fifty or so feet up," he teased lightly. I pushed away slightly and looked up to meet his eyes to respond with some sarcasm, but all I was able to see in those eyes was concern; all I could do was nod.

After the guide had explained how the harness worked and the best way for beginners to scale the mountain it was time to strap in and go for it. Six groups of five and MINE was the first to get called. Ami, Zakuro, Mint, Retasu, and me… Ami turned to the four of us and smiled slyly.

"If all five of us make it to the top, I'll personally check our whole group into a five star hotel the night before we start canoeing." I saw Mint's eyes light up at the idea of sleeping in a bed instead of on twigs and sticks. Zakuro's returned the sly smile and agreed to the challenge for us. Retasu and I looked at each other and sighed.

"Come on," I said cheerfully; "we can do it." Retasu looked nervous by smiled back at me and nodded.

The rocky wall wasn't what I'd expected: it was hard, solid as it should be, but the naturally built in footholds and places to grab on to are what surprised me. For some reason I'd envisioned an almost flat wall, but it was surprisingly easy. I took a deep breath and looked down behind me, surprised at how high up I'd already gotten, and it really thrilled me; no wonder Shirogane enjoyed it so much; that a group would come monthly to take in the experience. The feeling was almost addictive. The best part was seeing the plateau just ahead and remembering how far up it had looked from the ground

Retasu cried out as her foot slipped from the rock she'd stepped on. Still, she clung on and I was impressed. Ami called down to her, saying to hang in there. Mint wasn't doing horribly… and Zakuro seemed to have remarkable upper body strength.

"You all can do it," cheered Purin from the ground below and the encouragement was enough to get Retasu moving again.

The others were well ahead of me, pulling themselves on top of the rock now; Mint looked back at me and sighed in feigned frustration:

"Come on Ichigo," she said. "You are not going to cost me a chance to take a bath and sleep in a bed; get moving!" It took a few moments after they'd finished but I soon found my friends helping me make that last step.

"YATTA!" all five of us cheered in unison as we shared a group hug.

"I can't believe I made it," cried Retasu with excitement. I hugged her again and smiled: I'd never doubted she could do it.

"How do we get back down," Zakuro asked suddenly. We all looked around, and then down, and then to each other.

"Zip Line is over here ladies," Ami called before jumping and sliding down the side of the mountain. The woman manning the station raised a brow and swung the next rope side to side, silently asking who was next.

"You first," Mint said pushing me a little.

"Oh no, after you Mint," I said pushing her back.

"Betcha didn't think you could do that," commented Ami as we all undid our harnesses. I shook my head. "But you're stronger for it. Now you know you can do it," she added. "Now, if I'm not mistaken, you seem to have one more mountain to climb today, don't you Ichigo?" She glanced over at Aoyama-kun. I took a deep breath. She was right- this was something I had to do.

"Aoyama-kun," I said quietly walking over to him. He quickly stood and dusted the dirt off of his clothing.

"Let's talk." He looked at the ground and nodded solemnly.

"Why, Aoyama-kun?"

"Ichigo… I'm sorry. I did love you. I still do… it's just… some time ago I started thinking of you as a friend, not as a girlfriend. I wanted to tell you but the thought of hurting you was unbearable. I don't know what possessed me to do what I did… and there is nothing I could say that would make it excusable… I'm sorry Ichigo. I didn't want to hurt you."

"I know," I replied quietly, fighting back tears. "I just wish you'd told me this to begin with Aoyama-kun…" He looked away from me, tears brimming in his eyes. I slowly walked over and embraced him. "I'll always love you Aoyama- kun," I said gently. "But if you think we should just be friends… I'd rather have you as that then nothing at all." I broke the embrace and he smiled warmly at me.

"I'd like that."

I nodded, sad- but happy in a way. It was Aoyama's turn to go up the mountain. I started to walk back to my group when I heard him call my name again. I turned.

"You know Ichigo… there's someone who's been waiting for you for a long time: They love you so much they kept quiet during our relationship because your happiness was the most important thing to him… Give him a chance, okay?" There was something so earnest in his eyes… I nodded slowly, blushing a little. He smiled, and joined his group at the base of the mountain. I stood there, the wind tossing my hair around. I stood there until Purin started calling me for lunch. Taking one more deep breath to compose myself, I went to join my friends.

**Later that day**

The bus showed up to take us back to the woods around four or five that evening. I thought back on the day's earlier events and closed my eyes. Despite how painful it was, I needed that closure; and as much as I wanted to hate Aoyama-kun for what he did to me, I understood that we were connected. We always would be. I could never hate him.

"You okay?" asked Zakuro sitting down beside me. She leaned back in the seat and looked at me plainly. I smiled a little and said I was.

"Please cheer up Ichigo-onee-chan," smiled Purin peering at me from over her seat. "There are lots of other guys out there! Like Shir-." Retasu (who had been sitting next to Purin in the seat in front of me) clasped her hand over Purin's mouth and pulled her back down into the seat laughing nervously.

"What she means is there are lots of other fish in the sea," she said trying to cover herself. I heard Purin fuss under her breath that she just wanted to play match maker; I blushed a little.

"Don't rush so much Ichigo," comment Ami from the front of the bus. "Love comes to those who aren't looking."

"Besides," teased Mint, "you're a lot less goofy now that Mr. Wonderful is gone. You were a drooling drone before!" I stuck my tongue out at her.

"Now girls," smiled Akasaka-sama standing. "When we get back to the woods we have to immediately return to our previous campsite and get to bed. Tomorrow is a long day of hiking. Mint, Zakuro- it's your turn to lead." They nodded and the bus came to a stop along the side of the road.

Throughout the whole bus ride, Shirogane had been almost invisible. I glanced at him as he walked by me and stepped off of the bus. The sky was already dimming and the night was growing cold in contrast to the beautiful weather of the day. I shivered. Then I remembered Shirogane's jacket- he'd never asked for it back. I put it on taking in his scent that lingered in the material. I thought back to earlier when I had cried in his arms and blushed.

It was already dark by the time we all reported to our tarps, and we were all exhausted from the days climb. I knew I was anyway. I touched the little cat bell around my neck and listen to it jingle. With a sigh I reached around and untied the little ribbon letting the bell fall into my hands. When everyone was asleep I walked quietly into the woods and let my once precious gift from Aoyama-kun fall to the ground with a final soft jingle. I stood there a moment in the silence, and then, headed back through the woods towards the camp site.

I yawned as I crawled back into my sleeping bag. My friends around me were already snoring. As I lay there I heard Shirogane's voice echoing in my head… all the times he'd said he'd protect me… all the times he'd stepped back and let me have my relationship with Aoyama-kun… the dance we'd shared early on in our battle against the aliens and Deep Blue… Was Aoyama-kun right? Did Shirogane love me? I closed my eyes and tried not to think about it anymore.

TWACK. Mint rolled over in her sleep and smacked me in the face, waking me up again. I glared at her and scooted my bag further away. THWUMP. Shirogane rolled over and smacked me in the stomach. I groaned and lay back down. I had to stop sleeping between the two of them… this routine was getting really old. I was just about to whack both of them when I heard Shirogane start to mumble in his sleep. I knew I shouldn't have… but I tried to understand what he was saying.

"Ichigo…" he murmured. I felt my heart thump and my face turned red. He really did love me. "Quit being so lazy and take care of those customers." That jerk! I smashed my pillow down on his face.

"What the heck did you do that for," he snapped at me, trying to keep his voice down.

"For what you said in your sleep you jerk," I sneered back.

"I don't talk in my sleep," he said turning away. His cheeks showed a soft hint of red. "Can I go back to sleep now?" I blushed, realizing how silly I was being. Sure, I muttered lying down.

"Sorry Shirogane," I said rolling onto my side.

"Ichigo," he said softly. I rolled back over to face him.

"Call me Ryou."


	7. Careful Observation

Chapter 6: Careful Observation

"Alright, let's get going," commanded Zakuro. She was standing outside the tent ready to go as we all looked up at her through hazy eyes

"What are you talking about Onee-chan?" Mint grumbled. "The sun's not up yet!"

"It is five thirty, and it is too; get up and moving; Now!" Mint slowly pulled herself up and followed Zakuro out of the tent lethargically but obediently. Ryou just rolled over and covered his head with the pillow.

"That goes for you two, too!" Zakuro yelled back to us.

Every one sat down to breakfast half asleep. The sun was just starting to really come up. Zakuro and Mint went over to Ami after eating to get the map and their specific instructions.

"I've never seen Zakuro be so bossy," comment Purin. We couldn't help but all nod in agreement.

"Let's go, let's go," she said again, clapping her hands together. We all scurried to clean up and grab our backpacks. Somehow, it seemed like it would be a very long day.

There were only four days left of hiking before we started the canoeing. I felt kind of sad to see this part of our trip end. So much had happened to me… I felt different… stronger; not just physically but emotionally too. I looked around at my friends around me. This last week and a half out here had brought out things in us that were undetected before. I could only imagine what the next two weeks would bring.

"Hurry up baka-strawberry," called Ryou. "You're falling behind." I scowled at him and rushed to catch up.

"Okay, we can take a lunch break." Zakuro let her bag fall to the ground before turning around to see Mint, Retasu, Purin, and myself slump to the ground, in unison, leaning against one another. She shook her head.

"At this rate we'll be at the next camping spot in half the originally estimated time," Akasaka-sama said sitting down with us. He turned to Mint. "Why don't you take over after lunch Mint? Give Zakuro a break." Zakuro seemed disappointed by her loss of control, but we were all happy to hear that Mint would be taking over.

"Alright!" she said, taking a sip of tea. Uh-oh. There was something in the tone of that 'alright' that was making me a little nervous. "I'll work just as hard!" Purin, Retasu, and I fell back against each other again, groaning.

"You know," said Ami handing us lunch, "I seem to recall a cold spring coming up soon… The water is so crisp and clean there that you can drink it without even purifying it."

"You mean no yucky iodine?" cried Purin with excitement. Ami nodded with a smile.

"Alright! I'll work extra hard then!" We all laughed at her enthusiasm.

The day was growing increasingly hot, making the promise of the cold spring sound better and better. Mint kept her word- meaning she was just as bad as Zakuro! I sighed and kept moving on. If Mint was in charge I couldn't give her any excuse to pick on me.

"Do you hear that," Lettuce asked about an hour or so later. We stopped for a moment. Rushing water could be heard just ahead. Akasaka-sama smiled.

"I believe what we are looking for is just ahead."

"Alright then, let's set up camp here and head on down for a swim?" suggested Zakuro with a smile. "I know I was rough on you guys this morning, but think about how much time we'll have to relax this afternoon!" We couldn't help but agree with her reasoning. I don't think we'd ever set up camp so quickly!

As we walked through the woods to the spring the vegetation began to clear and the ground came to an end. Soft vines of ivy hung above us partly shrouding the area below. As we got closer we could see the spring through the vines- there were several small platforms, each one cascading water over the next. You could see right through to the bottom and a cool breeze was rising up from it.

The spring itself was about four feet below our cliff, so we had to climb down on the rocks. It was completely worth it. Though the water was shallow, there were plenty of places to sit. We all kicked back and relaxed. Well, except Ryou. He'd said something about needing a nap and gone into the tarp. The more I thought about it, the more I realized he'd been kind of feeling sick all day. Suddenly worried about him, I got up and headed back for camp, leaving my friends to enjoy the water.

"Ryou," I whispered as I peered into the tarp. He was asleep. I lay on my sleeping bag, next to his, and looked at his face. He seemed to be in some sort of pain. "Ryou," I tried again. Ryou slowly opened his eyes and looked at me. Blushing he sat up quickly.

"What are you doing here Ichigo? I was napping!" I sat up and frowned.

"I was just worried about you, gesh. See if I do that again," I mumbled. He sighed and relaxed a little.

"I've got a headache," he muttered- which I guess was his way of say 'sorry for snapping at you, let me tell you the problem now.' "I just wanted to try and sleep it off, but it's not working."

"I can go get some medicine from Ami…"

"No. I'll live." He stretched and started to get up. I grabbed his arm and pushed him back down.

"Ryou, I am your partner on this trip and we're supposed to look out for each other. It also means that we are EQUALS out here. You are not my boss, and I am not your employee. Now, as your partner and equal, I am ORDERING you to lie down and let me get you some medicine." I looked at him sternly, which I must say surprised him immensely. Truth be told, it surprised me too! He simply nodded dumbly.

"Here," I said returning a little later. "Take two of these." I handed him the pills and a water bottle. "There's fresh spring water in there for you." I sat back beside him.

"Ichigo," he said after a while. "You can go back to the spring. I'll be okay here. Thanks." Wow, he thanked me for something! I guess this trip really was a time for firsts.

"I don't really feel much like swimming anyway," I admitted wringing out a cloth I'd gotten for a cold compress. I gently traced the rag over his face in an attempt to make him feel better. He smiled nostalgically.

"My mother used to do that for me when I had a fever," he said softly. I paused. "That was a long time ago…" I looked at him sadly.

"I'm sure she was a good person." Stupid comment, I thought to myself. But I really didn't know what to say in this particular moment.

"Yeah…" he said, a little more like his 'I don't really care' self. I placed the rag on his forehead and let it stay there. He looked over at me and stared for a long while. I felt my skin flush.

"What?" I finally asked him.

"Why are you taking care of me Ichigo?" He asked me sitting up. I blushed even more, if that's possible.

"What, can't I care about you?" Now it was his turn to blush. "Sure you're mean to me… and only me. Sure you won't give me a raise, though I work the hardest. Sure you tease me mercilessly and can be a real jerk sometimes…"

"Get to the good part," he grumbled.

"Oh yeah… despite all those things, I know you care about me Ryou. And that's enough to make me care about you. We're friends, right?" I smiled happily at him. He sat there a moment in kind of a dumb silence before a smile crept onto his face. He nodded. I looked down at the floor, blushing. His smiles were so sweet… they just did something to me.

Soft... Smooth… I felt the gentle caress of a hand on my face, trailing through my hair. I was paralyzed. He was carefully guiding my face to his. My heart was pounding in my chest as I tilted my head, preparing to taste his lips…

"Ichigo-onee-chan!" Purin and the others were returning. Ryou and I jumped a mile apart. "Come on guys, we're going to play a game!" she said peering into the tarp. Of course, this was Purin. Even though she was just a child, she wasn't stupid. "Oooh… what's going on in here?" She cried out excitedly. We both rapidly tried to shush her but it was too late- everyone was there.

"So what have you two been doing in here?" ask Mint suggestively. We both waved our hands frantically and claimed I was just taking care of him.

"I'll bet," said Zakuro with a wicked little grin as she walked away. I wasn't blushing any more- I was waiting for the ground to open up and swallow me.

"Dinner's ready!" Ami called. What a relief!

After dinner I went back to the little cliff with the ivy overlooking the spring… The sun setting on the horizon lit the sky in brilliant reds and pinks and lined it with lavender clouds. The trickling water was soothing to my ears… I took my shoes off and gently placed my feet in the water. It was cold… I wandered on the flatter part of the spring to a small carved out section where I found a nice rock to sit on. The stars were becoming visible now… it would be a full moon… I leaned my head back against the rocks, staring into the night sky. I'd never appreciated it before… I closed my eyes and thought about what had happened earlier. I blushed… he was… we were about to kiss…

I shook my head quickly, waking myself up from the trance. What was I thinking! This was Ryou! I couldn't possibly have feelings for him, could I? And what did Aoyama know anyway? Ryou and I were friends, nothing more…

Right?


	8. Ryou Pushes His Luck

Chapter 7: Ryou pushes his luck

The days that followed were fairly uneventful. By this point in our journey, the days seemed to blend into one. There was something about being in nature… something about bare survival… it was humbling. Even Mint was becoming more active and adventurous. Everything around us truly seemed to be bringing out the best in all of us. However, this part of our trip was now at an end.

"Alright girls," began Ami as we gathered around for our nightly meeting. "I promised a hotel room and tomorrow night that is exactly what you're going to get." She presented us with a pamphlet detailing the five star hotel accommodations we'd be spending the next night in. "The boys have a room, I have a room, and you girls will share a two bedroom suite. Dinner will be in the hotel restaurant at 6 pm sharp, so don't be late. We'll arrive around ten in the morning or so, giving you plenty of time to clean up before then."

"Finally, a real bed." Mint closed her eyes and smiled.

"A shower," Zakuro and Retasu murmured in unison.

"It's not so bad out here," I commented, leaning back. Ryou looked over at me and chuckled.

"I thought for sure you'd be jumping up and down Ichigo," he teased. I stuck my tongue out at him. "I must say I'm somewhat impressed though. I didn't think you'd make it past the first week!" Every one sitting near him took two giant scoots back.

"You know Ryou, you've got some nerve. How dare-"

"OKAY," interjected Akasaka-sama, "time for a game!"

"You're so overly sensitive," he muttered under his breath. I glared at him. Why did he have to be such a jerk? I mean geez, insulting me and complimenting me at the same time… That was different. Sometimes I just didn't understand him. As the rules of the game were explained, I quietly got up and snuck away.

I wandered through the woods for a while. It was a fairly warm evening, so it was an easy trip. I didn't have any clear direction as to where I was going, but after having been surrounded by my friends for the last couple of weeks, I really wanted to be alone anyway.

Off in the distance I heard my name called, but I didn't care to answer it. I found a nice tree branch and climbed up into it, watching the sun finish setting on the horizon. I heard footsteps approaching… I heard my name again… this time I could tell it was Ryou's voice. I kept quiet and watched him as he walked under the tree.

"Damn it Strawberry…" he muttered, "Where are you?" To my surprise, he seemed to be a little worried. With a sigh, I called out to him from my perch.

"Why the hell did you answer me?" he yelled. I calmly shrugged and commented that I hadn't wanted to. "Yeah, well, they were worried about you back at camp," he grumbled.

"Were you worried," I asked him as I hopped down. He blushed slightly and muttered an 'of course not.'

I threw my hands up in annoyance. "Then why bother coming to get me! Send someone else next time if you don't care." I stormed back to camp, with him right behind me.


	9. Oasis in Life's Desert

Chapter 8: An Oasis in Life's Little Desert

The old bus that had chauffeured us during our trip casually came to a halt by the side of the road. The paint was chipping off and the vinyl seats were ripped in several places, but I was never so happy to see any mode of transportation! The little old man with the two missing front teeth smiled widely and greeted each of us as we climbed aboard. Akasaka-sama and Ryou settled all of our belongings for the trip, giving the rest of us a chance to catch our breath from the morning's hike.

"This is so exciting!" Mint was completely glowing with joy. "A real bed; real food; a shower!"

We all nodded and laughed. Ami leaned back in her seat and smiled.

"I remember… When I first got back to civilization I thought it would be wonderful… but I found I'd forgotten the simplest things, like how to use a microwave… Regular water tasted funny to me… Being inside made me long to go back out again… It was funny how such a short amount of time had changed me… made me stronger." She paused. "Sorry," she said waving apologetically. "I'm just some old woman rambling on about her past." She quietly turned her attentions to a book. About that time the guys climbed onto the bus and we were hotel bound!

"Ichigo," I turned to see Ryou sitting beside me.

"What do you want," I said looking away. He leaned back in the seat and sighed.

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"If you have to ask me what, I'm not going to tell you." He smirked at me and flicked my forehead. I glared at him as he walked back to the front of the bus. Yes… What was he talking about…?

"_Were you worried?"_

"_Of course not…"_

"_Then why bother coming to get me! Send someone else next time if you don't care…"_

I blushed. Was that what he was talking about? I peered over the seat at him, but he was having a conversation with Ami and Akasaka-sama.

"What's going on Ichigo," asked Mint slyly sitting next to me. The other girls gathered round, each with a mischievous grin on their face. I tried to shrink.

"W-w-hat are you talking about?"

"You and Shirogane-onii-sama!" cheered Purin.

"What about us?"

"Look, she's blushing," teased Zakuro. I started to get claustrophobic.

"Come on guys, there's nothing going on."

"Sure, Ichigo, we believe you."

The bus rolled to a stop and I was saved for the time being. The guys were the first off of the bus to help us down. Of course, in my blind rush to get inside and away from my friends, I tripped.

"Ichigo, are you okay?" I took my face out of Ryou's chest and blushed.

"S-s-sorry," I stammered, too embarrassed to say much else.

"Well, be more careful next time baka-strawberry," he commented walking over to help unload the bus. A minute or so later, Ami came out of the reception hall with our passes.

The inside of the hotel was far more spectacular than the outside. The ceilings almost seemed to run into the sky and were supported by elegant roman style pillars. The ground was solid marble and the walls had beautiful scrolls hand painted on them. It was breath-taking. Ami pointed out the hotel's restaurant where we'd be having dinner. We were on our own for lunch.

"But I have nothing to wear to dinner," sighed Mint disappointedly as Ami unlocked the door to our suite.

"Don't be too sure," she smiled. Hanging in the closets were five beautiful dresses. "Keiichiro and Ryou picked these up for you girls just before we left. Hope you like them." We all rushed in and took a closer look at our gifts:

"Think of them as a reward for your hard work," added Akasaka-sama with a smile.

"Kirei… they're so pretty," cheered Purin as she ran her fingers over her silky, yellow dress. I pulled mine out and held it against my body. It was a long, form-fitting red dress that settled at the shoulders and had a small slit up the left side. It was much more mature than anything I had sitting in my closet at home! They'd even bought us shoes for the occasion. I glanced over at Ryou who was looking at me and smiling. I blushed.

"We'll leave you girls alone now," he said in his normal voice. "Enjoy your 24 hours of vacation time!" The door shut behind them.

"Dibs on the shower," called Mint as the door to the bathroom slammed shut. Zakuro, Retasu, and Purin looked at each other for a moment.

"Dibs on the other shower," the all yelled in unison. The three rushed off in a battle royal to beat each other to the second bathroom. I lay back on my bed and stared at the ceiling. I instinctively reached up to touch the spot on my neck where the bell used to lie. Aoyama-kun… I rolled to my side and glanced over at the phone. For a moment, I considered calling him… but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Dinner time rolled around pretty quickly. I stood in front of the closet mirror, checking myself out in the red dress. It fit flawlessly. There was a knock on the door.

"Do you like the dresses?" Akasaka-sama smiled.

"They're lovely," replied Retasu happily.

"How about yours Ichigo?" I smiled happily at him and nodded. "Ryou picked that out especially for you," he added with a small wink.

The hotel's restaurant was a magnificent piece of work with multiple levels, a bar, a live band, and even a dancing floor. Soft symphonic music wafted through the air, mingling with the sweet smells from the kitchen. I was in heaven!

A few pleasant hours later…

"I couldn't eat another bite!" cheered Purin happily.

"I didn't even realize I was so hungry," Retasu murmured. Everyone began to get up and go their separate ways. As I stood to leave, I felt a hand gently take mine. I turned.

"Ichigo," Ryou said to me, very seriously. "Stay and dance with me?" I blushed and stood there a moment. Had I heard right; did Ryou just ask me to dance. Memories of our first dance surfaced: how he held me; how he'd guided me so tenderly through every step. I nodded dumbly.

We were alone. At least in the sense that our friends were no longer in the restaurant… and I couldn't help but feel that, somehow, that was their plan. Still, I didn't have much time to think about it. I felt my body grow warm against Ryou's as we danced close together. Somehow, it seemed to feel right. I felt safe… secure… How many songs we stayed through, I couldn't say… because for that moment, there was only Ryou and me...


	10. The Unexpected

Chapter Nine: The unexpected

I slowly came back to my surroundings, still in Ryou's arms. Slowly, I looked up at him… those soft blue eyes. I'd never seen them look so kindly at me before:

"Ryou, not to sound," I began, still lingering in the embrace, "ungrateful for tonight, but what's gotten into you?" He laughed and patted my head.

"Don't make me out to be such a jerk. I can be nice."

"Sometimes," I teased him back. "I'm just surprised," I said shyly, looking at the ground and widening the gap slightly. "I didn't know I could have this much fun with you." I felt his fingers trailing through my hair and down around the edge of my face… down to my chin; his hand tightened around my back and I felt him pulling me towards him. I suddenly felt really weak…

"I've gotta go." I turned abruptly and rushed off. God, what was wrong with me? He called my name once, but I didn't respond. I was too embarrassed… and a little scared. These feelings were just too sudden for me. I wasn't sure what I wanted. Did I really have feelings for Ryou or was I just rebounding from Aoyama… seeing something new in Ryou and reading too much into it… I wished I was older so I could know what to do… older… That was it!

"Ichigo? What are you doing here?" Ami opened her door and rubbed her eyes. "It's midnight."

"Gomen ne. I'm sorry to wake you… Can we talk?"

Ami poured me a cup of tea (she was so obviously related to Akasaka-sama!) and we sat at the little desk area of her room.

"So he went to kiss you… and you ran from the room?" I nodded, red with embarrassment. She laughed. "Don't be embarrassed Ichigo. It happens to all of us. Poor Ryou though. He probably thinks he's done something wrong."

"What should I do?"

"You have to make that decision for yourself Hon." She looked at me for a moment and then smiled softly. "I've known Ryou for a few years now. He's had a tough life and it's made him reclusive and scared of showing his emotions… scared to reach out to anyone. You girls may be the best thing that's ever happened in his life. Especially you, Ichigo."

"Why does he always pick on me then? He's always nice to the others."

"Sounds like an old friend of mine back home," she said smiling nostalgically. "We're married now. You should think about it. Sort out your feelings. Find out his. See where you want to go from there. Ichigo, I told you before: you're young. You don't need to settle down at this stage in life. Enjoy your youth." She winked at me. "Now try and get to sleep. It's just about one am now."

I quietly let myself out of Ami's room and started down the hallway toward mine. That's when I saw the one thing I never expected: Ryou was sitting on the ground, leaning against my door, asleep; had he been waiting for me? I quietly crept over and knelt in front of him.

"Ryou," I whispered. He jumped. "Sorry." I said looking away.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay." He said standing. He wouldn't look at me either.

"I am."

"Okay then. Goodnight." I felt him walk by me and down the hall to his room.

"I'm just not ready." I blurted out. He stopped. "I need to think… can I please have time to think." I turned to him, blurry eyes. He slowly walked back. Those pale blue eyes pierced mine and I couldn't move. My heart was pounding in my chest, my knees were weak. I felt his arms wrap tightly around me. My body grew warmer pressed against his. And then…

"I've got time," he said in his normal, teasing way as he pulled away from me. "I can wait a little longer. Goodnight Strawberry." I stood there, watching him walk away. Watching him until he disappeared into his room, leaving me alone in the hallway.

My friends were already asleep when I crept in so I snuck into the bathroom to change. It was then, in front of the sink mirror, that I saw it. Around my neck was a black string holding a crystal pendant necklace. It was entwined with metal and sparkled brilliantly in the light. Where had it come from? As I walked out of the bathroom to go to bed I noticed a letter had been slipped under the door. My name was on it:

_Ichigo,_

_I know it's not your "precious gift" from Aoyama, but I hope it will bring you as much joy and comfort. Just don't do something crazy and choke yourself with it while we're hiking through the woods. And try not to drop it in the river. I know how you klutz out some times._

_Ryou_

I growled. Even when he was being romantic Ryou was a jerk. Still… I folded the letter and carefully packed it with my stuff and went to bed.

"Ichigo, wake up, we've gotta go soon!" Purin was shaking me. I pulled the pillow over my head. Was it really morning already?

"You got in awfully late," pried Mint, sitting at the edge of my bed.

"I think I'll go take a shower," I said sitting up quickly and making a dash for the door.

"Oh Ichigo, what a lovely necklace!" I groaned. Retasu just had to call attention to the necklace…

"Mmmm… how pretty," commented Zakuro taking a closer look at the pendant on my neck.

"Did Shirogane-onii-chan give you that?" asked Purin excitedly.

"N-no," I stammered. "I brought it with me from home… I just haven't worn it before." I grabbed my clothes and rushed into the bathroom, locking the door behind me.

"You have to come out of there some time Ichigo," teased Mint from the other side of the door. Sometimes she could be worse than Ryou.

After breakfast we found ourselves back on the old bus headed towards our next destination- the two weeks of white water canoeing. Our summer time adventure was half over.

"Alright girls," began Ami after we were all settled in the bus. "This next part of our trip is considerably more dangerous than the last. Let me explain some things to you right now. Rapids are classified from 1 to 5, 1 being the weakest. We will not canoe over anything larger than a 3.5. At all times in the canoe you will wear helmets and life vests as well as water shoes." The lecture went on for most of the ride.

I know I should have listened more to what Ami was saying, but my mind couldn't focus. I kept thinking of the hotel… of my night in Ryou's arms… it was different from being with Aoyama. Things had always been so perfect with Aoyama. We complimented each other well. But Ryou… Ryou always challenged me. He always made me better. I lightly touched the pendant around my neck. Out of the corner of my eye I notice Ryou watching me, hiding a smile. I blushed.

"So, Ichigo." Mint popped over the seat. "Let's finish that discussion from earlier."

"What discussion," asked Ryou raising an eyebrow.

"About what you and Ichigo-onee-chan were doing so late last night," Purin said. Ryou laughed a little at that and sat looked at me expectantly. I stared back at him wide eyed. What did he expect me to say?

"Looking at her face, you'd think they kissed," teased Zakuro suggestively. I shook my head repeatedly and waved my hands frantically.

"No, no. We just danced a little while, that's all. Really. Nothing happened." I looked down at the floor. "Nothing at all," I said just a little sullenly.

"Did you want something to happen," Mint asked me. I thought for a moment. I looked over at Ryou who seemed to be particularly interested in my response. Revenge.

"Of course not." I said firmly. "It'd probably be really bad anyway."

"Oh really," he commented. I nodded firmly. "Okay."

He was suddenly beside me in the seat. He pressed his lips firmly against mine… I was in total shock. His lips softened against mine… the kiss was sweet and passionate… something I had never felt when kissing Aoyama. His kisses had always been warm and fuzzy… This… this was entirely different.

Our friends were laughing and clapping as he pulled away from me. Ryou looked positively triumphant. "I hate you," I muttered looking out the window.

"Don't be a sore loser Strawberry," he teased before returning to his seat.

Everyone crowded around me again asking what the kiss was like. I tried to disappear into the wall of the bus. I would be safe soon. We were just about to arrive at our next destination.


	11. The Elegance of the River

Chapter 10: The Elegance of a River

We stepped off the bus and into the hot, late morning sun. Suddenly I was glad to be in my swimsuit and a skirt; those jeans would have had me frying! The canoes were already being unloaded. Our job, for the moment, was to transfer our belongings into smaller water proof bags. There was basically enough space for my sleeping bag, a towel, a change of clothes, and my pajamas. I'd had enough trouble surviving on my backpack for two weeks—how I was going to make it through with just this little bag tucked in between the seats of the canoe was completely and utterly beyond me.

"That necklace really is beautiful on you Ichigo," said Zakuro softly as we packed.

"Did he give it to you?"

I blushed and nodded slowly. She smiled gently at me and promised not to tease.

"How do you feel about him?"

"It's hard to say," I finally replied.

"He cares a lot about you. It's very obvious."

"Do you really think so," I replied, lost in thought. My hand found its way to the pendant around my neck and caressed it. Just having something there was so soothing. Zakuro looked at me for a moment and then nodded.

It was true: Ryou had tried to conceal his feelings for the past year, but they could see it… Even I had started to notice it after a while I just didn't want to see it. He always did his best to encourage my relationship with Aoyama; he saw how happy Aoyama made me. The sacrifices he made by keeping quiet. Suddenly I thought back on all the clues I had overlooked in the past year. I never even gave him a chance. I felt horrible. I glanced over at him; his golden hair shrouded his face as he leaned over his own bag packing.

"Ichigo," said Zakuro kindly. "Follow your heart. It hasn't steered you wrong yet." I looked at her and smiled happily. It was about this time that Mint came over and told us it was time to go.

This is so boring, I thought as we floated down the river. Ryou was lying and relaxing in the back of the canoe. I gritted my teeth. And he has the nerve to call me lazy! I dug my paddle in and splashed him with the cold river water.

"What'd you do that for," he snapped.

"Because I'm not going to float out here in complete silence every time we're between rapids."

"And splashing me was more effective than striking up conversation?" I blushed and apologized. He leaned back again and told me to go ahead. I had his attention. I thought for a moment. I knew what I wanted to talk to him about… what I didn't know was how to bring it up.

"It'll have to wait," he said sitting up again. The sound of rushing water was just ahead and the river was rapidly growing choppy. This was it; the first rapid, a level 1.5. Ami had told us the first two were little ones… the third and last rapid of the day was going to be much more difficult, a level 3. He asked me if I was ready. I nodded nervously, checking my helmet and life vest one last time. I went from my sitting position to my knees and began paddling. My job at the front of the canoe was to provide speed. His in the back was to steer.

The first spritz of water against my face was exhilarating. "Rock left," I called to Ryou as I paddled harder to give him the necessary speed to turn. After several twist, turns, and jumps we floated softly back into calm waters.

"That was incredible." I brushed my wet bangs away from my eyes before turning to smile at Ryou. He blushed slightly before smiling back. I looked back to see Purin and Retasu floating down the rapids after us, followed by their canoe. The others seemed to have made it through okay though.

"That was fun!" laughed Purin as we helped them back in. She grabbed the side of our canoe.

"Purin wait!" I cried out. "You're gonna make us-!" SPLASH

Ryou and I both popped up at the same time and looked at each other. Then we looked at Retasu and Purin. And then… the four of us started laughing.

"Go into the Eddy," called Ami as she and Akasaka-sama appeared, followed shortly by Mint and Zakuro. We dragged our canoes and paddles over to the little Eddy on the right side of the river. The shallow, still water gave us the perfect spot to get back in.

The thrill, though exhilarating, was very short. There had been a moment of fear, followed by a rush of adrenaline; it left me more than ready for the next one. Ami pulled up beside us to make sure we were okay before we set out for the next two rapids.

"Hey, Ichigo," I turned to Ryou as we floated along on the calm waters. "What did you want to talk to me about earlier?"

"It's nothing," I said softly. He looked at me curiously.

"It's pretty out here…" I was startled by the comment. "What do you think Strawberry?"

"You're asking me what I think?" He scowled at me for that and called me a baka-strawberry. I decided to let it slide.

"It's beautiful… The colors in the sunset… the wind whispering through the trees in a soft lullaby at night… The trickling of water adding to the medley…" He was looking at me funny. "What?"

"I didn't know you were so poetic," he teased. I pouted and turned away. I felt his hand on my chin, turning me back to him. "Don't pout," he whispered. "You're much prettier when you smile." I blushed a deep hue.

"Ryou," I whispered… Our eyes met and I could feel my heart pounding through my chest. He was pulling me closer, his fingers caressing my cheek… I leaned into the touch instinctually and then…

"EVERY ONE PULL OVER FOR LUNCH," called Ami. Startled, he returned to his seat and began to steer us to the shore. With a sigh I began to paddle… Why did our friends have such bad timing?


	12. Truth or Dare

Truth or Dare

No surprises were to be had that day. Everything had gone eerily as planned. Tarps were up by nightfall and a small campfire was lit. It was a little unusual. Ami usually insisted on not using campfires in the past weeks, insisting that we needed to leave the grounds as we found them. But this particular night was colder than most and we were pretty wet from the rapids. The flames flickered against the moonlit sky and danced on the rocky cliff behind us. Magnificent. Yet, I'd come to expect that out here.

Purin bounded over to me. They were getting ready to play a game. Sounded innocent enough…

Truth or dare: of all the games in the world, why were we playing truth or dare? There was just too much our friends could use against us here… It was not going to be pretty. I was first-a truth.

"Who's the better kisser: Shirogane, Kisshu, or Aoyama?" Mint narrowed her eyes and smiled slyly at me.

"Wow! Ichigo's kisses a lot of guys," mused Purin. I turned beet red.

"What's my dare?"

"Go skinny dipping in the river." Not good options. I decided to take the truth. Ryou was looking into the flames of the fire. The jerk wasn't even interested in my response! Aoyama, I lied casually. That got a response.

"Isn't there a rule about lying on a truth?" Ryou looked over at Mint who nodded. "I believe the rule is if you are suspected of lying you must take the dare." Everyone turned to stare at me.

"I'm not lying," I replied laughing nervously. It was no good. I never was a good lair. I was faced with a decision… hurt my pride and tell the truth, or bare all and dive into the river… He was looking at me now. Smirking. I bit my lower lip and glared. I couldn't believe I was about to do this…

I walked quickly into the woods and changed into my swimming suit before walking down to the water's edge. The water was beyond cold-but it beat having to fuel Ryou's overly inflated ego. Taking a deep breath I dunked myself under the water. I held my swimming suit up above water, being sure to remain well covered. My friends cheered and clapped jokingly.

I was never so happy to be near a fire! I was back in my pajamas snuggled into my sleeping bag while the game continued. Retasu was next-truth.

"Who do you have a crush on?" Zakuro winked at her. She turned bright red and adjusted her glasses.

"Well, I sort of thought Pai was pretty cute… and we had deep conversations…" she blushed, concealing a smile as she said this. I was kind of surprised. I thought she'd liked Ryou personally. Mint's turn-dare.

"Go all day tomorrow without any tea." Mint went pale but agreed to the challenge. "We'll all make sure you stick to it," I continued with a wink.

"Okay, Ryou; you're up!" I grinned at him mischievously: payback.

"Dare me."

"I dare you to—"

"Kiss Ichigo-onee-chan!" Purin smiled and bounced around excitedly.

"Is that all?"

"No! That's not a dare for you, it's punishment for me!"

"Me thinks the lady doth protest too much!"

"Just shut up and kiss me."

The whole circle fell quiet, waiting to see what would happen next.

"As you wish, Strawberry," he replied quickly closing the large gap between them.

"And no quick pecks on the lips either! We want to see a real kiss," Mint added.

I leaned forward, eyes squinted shut, and prayed that my ears and tail wouldn't pop out. That would give Mint material for a month! Not to mention that Ryou would be all smug about it… No kiss. I peaked open one eye:

"I won't kiss you," he muttered, "I refuse to give a kiss to someone who's unwilling to kiss me."

Liar, I thought. He'd kissed me dozens of times when I hadn't been willing… although, I never exactly stopped him or punished him for doing so… I blushed a little and looked down.

"What's my truth, Ichigo?"

I paused and looked up at him in earnest: "have you ever been in love?"

Ryou looked at me wide eyed, a little blush creeping across his face.

"What'll it be Shirogane," nudged Zakuro, "a kiss or a love confession?"

"Yes…" he murmured. "I have been in love."

We both sat there silently, no one even daring to poke fun or pry further. Fortunately, the awkwardness was interrupted by a call for dinner. I couldn't help but notice Ryou didn't join us. By the time the others were done eating and heading down to the water for a before-bed-swim, he had yet to move an inch. The light of the fire danced across his face; he seemed so lost, like a little child not knowing where to turn. I closed the distance between us and sat beside him. We didn't speak, he didn't even really acknowledge my existence, but I sat there with him none the less.

"Did you need something Strawberry." He finally looked over at me, mildly annoyed. I simply replied no and continued watching the flames with him. His eyes never left me. I turned back to him.

"How do you feel about me Ryou?" I felt my face burn from a blush, but I had to ask him. I couldn't take not knowing any more. He stared at me speechless before a calm smile crept onto his lips. He gazed back into the fire.

"You've gotten a lot stronger on this trip Strawberry." I scolded him and pointed out that his comment, though nice, did not answer my question. "Do you really need me to say it…?"

"It would be nice…" I drew a little design in the dirt with my fingers. He leaned back and stared up at the sky.

"I'm not ready to say it." There was something in the calm, simple way he made that comment that really pissed me off.

I stood up and looked down at him. "If you want to be with me Ryou, you need to say something and say it soon. I'm not going to wait around wondering. And the next Aoyama in my life may not screw up." I turned and walked away in a huff.

I awoke early the next morning. Well before anyone else… The world outside smelled like dew and soft chirping could be heard amongst the trees. I felt warm… My eyes opened slowly… there I was, lying in Ryou's strong arms. I blushed, unwilling to move from the position. He was still fast asleep. Sometime during the night I must have rolled over into his chest and he must have instinctually wrapped his arms around me. Carefully, I removed myself from his grasp and left the tarp.

The river sparkled in the morning sun and a soft roar could be heard from the upcoming raids. I splashed some of the cool water on my face. People were starting to stir… hmm…

"Good morning!" I cheered as everyone emerged from their tarps. It was roughly seven.

"I must still be asleep," commented Mint yawning. "It looks like Ichigo is sitting over the gas cooker making breakfast…"

"I don't think you're dreaming…" Purin clung to Retasu nervously.

"Do you know how to cook Ichigo?" She looked nervous too.

"You guys are horrible," I muttered stirring the food. "I'm not the best cook in the world, but it's not going to kill you." They all took a step back. "Very funny."

"Let's get this over with," teased Ryou coming over and taking a bowl. Everyone watched him take a bite… chew… he was keeping a good poker face. The suspense was killing me. "Not bad Strawberry," he finally concluded. That was probably the best I was going to get. Still, it got everyone to eat my breakfast.

The morning went quickly. We were on the water by a quarter to eight. The rapids had been lowered in level due to the heavy rain, but according to Ami they would be back to normal by the following morning. Of course, this meant another long day of floating down the river with the least talkative human on the face of the earth. I didn't know at the time just how eventful this day would be… and the changes it would bring about.


	13. Deadly Water Game

Chapter 12: Deadly Water Game

Despite the rain, the rapids were a little rougher than expected. The first two were only 2.5, but we still took on a lot of water. Mint and Zakuro had gotten flipped from too much water intake. It may have been Mint's lack of tea causing her reaction time to take a hit. She seemed to be going through caffeine withdrawal. I was secretly getting a kick out of it. After that truth or dare episode the previous night she deserved it.

Last night… Perhaps I had been a little tough on Ryou. Perhaps I should have just backed off. I shouldn't have asked him in the first place honestly… All I knew was that summer was near an end. School would be starting soon. I was single. I didn't want to play these games any more. I sighed and dug my paddle into the rough waters. He hadn't said a word to me since we'd headed out. Just a quick glance… he was lying back, in his normal fashion, staring up into the sky. Always thinking…

"What do you want Strawberry?" He didn't look at me.

"A raise." He smirked a little at that.

"Seriously Ichigo…"

"Why are we playing this game?" Apparently I hadn't learned my lesson.

"Ichigo, I…" we were cut off as the side of the canoe brushed against a rock causing us to loose balance. Ami yelled over the rushing water, scolding me for not paying attention to the rocks. I pushed us off with the paddle and pulled back on track. This particular rapid looked kind of nasty. Time to focus.

A level 3.5. The waters came over the sides of the canoe, threatening to knock us over. I couldn't see the rocks directly in front of me. Panic set in. This wasn't like before. I was scared. I dug my paddle harder into the water but found only air. We landed with a thud. My heart was pounding as we tried to regain the canoe's balance. Was this thing ever going to end? It seemed at least three times as long as the previous one. One last crashing wave ricocheting off of a rock was all it took.

I could see the light at the top of the river as my life vest pushed me upwards. The waters tossed me around as though I were nothing. I grabbed at rocks trying to hold myself up. Ryou… I couldn't see him anywhere… I tried to float down on my back like Ami had instructed, but the crashing water everywhere around me was making at a difficult task. Just ahead my friends were calling to me and pointing at some thing on my left.

A hole. Approximately five feet deep… maybe more. I was swimming now, pulling myself as hard as I could. Ryou was far away. I could see him though. In the same situation as me. That was the last thing I saw before being pulled under. I tried to kick off of a rock. Mistake. Big mistake. My water shoe lodged itself in between the rocks. I was trapped. Waves were crashing down on my head making it more and more difficult to surface. By some miraculous twist of fate I pulled my foot from the shoe and floated up.

I grabbed onto one of the large rock structures and slowly pulled myself around to the shore line, shaken but alright. I glanced around nervously, but my fears were soon put to rest. Ryou was being helped to shore by the others and Akasaka-sama and Retasu were headed my way.

"Are you alright?" Ami rushed over as I limped over. I nodded. She looked at Ryou and then at me before announcing it was a good time to stop for lunch. We were left alone, most likely to have a moment to recompose ourselves.

"You okay Ryou." I sat beside him to high on adrenaline to really take in what had just happened. He just stared straight ahead and nodded.

"I'm sorry Ichigo… I should have done more to help you."

"What would you have done?" I leaned on his shoulder and closed my eyes. "The waters were rough out there."

"I want you to be safe. I was supposed to protect you. I failed." I brushed the wet hair from his face.

"I'm okay Ryou… you're okay. That's what's important." He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close to him. I nestled into him, willing to stay in the moment forever.


	14. Confessions

Chapter 13: Confessions are far too often Long Overdue

The sky began to turn purple as the nightly ritual of the sunset commenced. After the afternoon's chaos things were calm once again. Everyone seemed to be keeping their distance, most likely afraid of upsetting either Ryou or me. He was still pretty unsettled by the whole event.

"Akasaka-sama?" He was sitting near the river bank sipping on his tea. I smiled at the sight. It was good to see some normalcy around me. He smiled warmly and invited me to join him.

"Have you talked to Ryou?" I shook my head, blushing slightly. "I didn't think he'd want to be around anyone right now, let alone me."

"Come now Ichigo. You're far more observant than that." I looked at him curiously. "I bet he'd really like to talk to you right now. But you know Ryou, Ichigo. He's not going to actively seek you out. It's just his way."

"That's the problem," I muttered burying my face into my knees. "He doesn't actively seek me out. He doesn't try anything at all!" He laughed a little.

"Doesn't try? I wouldn't say that. He's just subtle. He'd rather show how he feels than say it, that's all." I nodded slowly and excused myself. I had some thinking to do.

The sun was almost gone over the mountains now. The rush of water could be heard—there was a level 1 just beyond our camp point. He was lying on his sleeping bag. I crawled into the tarp and sat beside him.

"It's called Privacy Ichigo," he grumbled. "Do you just not respect the notion at all?" I bit my tongue. He was just being grumpy… I had to remember that. I gently stroked his blond bangs from his face. He closed his eyes.

"Are you okay?" He shook his head. "Is it because of earlier?"

"No, I just thought I'd be randomly moody." He sat up and looked at me. I laughed. I couldn't help it. The sarcastic remark had just struck me as funny for some reason. The strange thing was my laughing seemed to strike him as funny. We sat there laughing until… I just started to cry.

"Ryou I was so frightened." I buried my face into his chest, tears streaming down my cheeks. His arms wrapped tightly around me.

"I know. I'm sorry. I should have-" I shook my head and pulled back a bit.

"No, no. I was frightened for you. I couldn't see you, I was being pulled under. I was terrified I wouldn't see you again." The look on Ryou's face suddenly became very warm and soft.

"You were worried about me?" He gently wiped my tears with his thumb as he caressed my face. I nodded. "Ichigo…"

"I was afraid I'd never know how you felt about me. That's you'd never know how I felt about you. The idea terrified me." I was calming down now that my mini-emotional-break-down was over. He looked slightly hurt.

"You don't know how I feel about you?" I looked down.

"I want to hear it…" I looked back up at him searching his beautiful blue eyes for some kind of response. I could feel his body trembling against mine as he ran his fingers through my hair.

"I love you, Ichigo." Those words-I'd waited so long to hear them. I turned red and let out a sigh of relief, content. I whispered I love you too as our lips met in a deep, passionate kiss. Even though we had technically kissed before this time was different. I now knew for sure how Ryou felt about me. It was an incredible feeling. We broke the kiss, both of us blushing heavily. Ami called us for dinner.

"Let's not tell them yet," he said grabbing my arm as I tried to leave. I nodded in agreement. They wouldn't hear the end of it for the rest of the trip!

The rest of the evening went by in a blur. It had been an overly exciting day and I was starting to get emotionally numb for the moment. Ryou's mood seemed to have improved since our conversation. He was back to his normal self joking and chatting with every one. I smiled. I wondered if he'd treat me any differently now?

"What are you staring at Baka Strawberry? Shouldn't you be making a pig out of yourself like usual?" He looked at the half-eaten plate of food in front of me. That answered my question.

"How dare you-" he winked at me and I blushed. Without another word I continued eating my dinner.

"They must have gotten together," I heard Mint whisper to Retasu. I choked.

"It's true then?" Mint perked up, undoubtedly ready to avenge her lack of tea. The four girls began gathering closer around us. I backed away nervously. Ryou turned red and struck up conversation with Akasaka-sama.

"I guess we're going to start seeing each other…" I murmured, not sure what else to say. My father's going to have a heart attack, I thought. Ryou was three years older than me… Daddy didn't even like me dating Aoyama, and he was my age! Maybe this was one of those things he didn't need to know about.

That was right. We'd be home soon. Only a few more days remained on our two weeks of canoeing. In a couple of days we'd be taking part in a day long white water rafting trip and then… home. It was a good feeling. I missed home. I missed Mom and Dad. I even missed working at the café! I smiled.

"Alright, everyone get to bed," ordered Ami. "We've got a rough couple of days coming up and I want you all to be well rested."


	15. Rafting

Chapter 14: Rafting Day

The woman at the Parks and Recreation office was passing around waivers. Not good, at least in my personal opinion. Something about signing a piece of paper absolving them of blame in case of our death was a little unnerving to say the least.

The woman went over the differences between what we had been doing and what we would be doing that day. The holes were deeper. There were undercut rocks that would drag you down named Bone Cruncher and Meat Grinder. We'd been going on three level fours and two level fives. I thought I might faint.

It was a particularly hot day… which meant a lot of evaporation… which meant a lot of extra rock. We all crowded into the large yellow raft. Our guide settled himself at the back of the raft to steer. Just ahead I could see the rushing water of the first level four. There were crashing waves and jagged rocks every where. I glanced about nervously, relieved to see I wasn't the only one considering faking a stomach ache.

"This is going to be great!" I smiled. Purin was always so happy and cheerful. So optimistic about everything… especially the dangerous things.

"Remember to jam your foot into the extra padding of the raft when we hit the rough waters. It'll help you from falling in. If we flip over, try to find the air pocket and hold on to the rope along the edge of the raft, got it?" The guide seemed very strict in his rules. I wondered if anyone had ever died on this trip… Probably not a good thing to think about at the moment.

The awkward vessel floated along casually through the beginning of the choppy water. White waves came crashing over the sides; a nice relief from the hot sun. The waves started to grow higher. The raft began to jump up and down as we desperately tried to keep our paddles in the rough waters. At one point I felt myself slipping out—without thinking I jammed my foot as deep into the folds of as it would go. It was absolutely thrilling. My heart was pounding.

The raft rambled down a small slope before coming to a slow, gentle glide. Everyone was drenched, but they all appeared to have enjoyed it. There was little time to relax though. Just around the next corner came the loud rumbling of the next endeavor.

It continued on like that through the day. Around lunch time we came to a long stretch of quiet waters. The guide ordered us into the water. He pointed to two large pillars just ahead with metal rungs on them. The river was deep enough at this point that we could jump in from as high as the 8th rung, approximately six or more feet above the water level. Mint, who was positioned behind me in the raft, waited for the perfect moment. The next thing I knew, I was submerged in the water.

"Mint! What was that for?" She was still sitting there laughing at me.

"Canon ball!" Purin jumped into the water with a huge splash. "That was fun!"

We had a great time that afternoon climbing up the pillars and jumping down into the water. Ami, Akasaka-sama, and Ryou remained on the raft more than happy to let us have our fun. The day was not yet complete though. We had to continue on.

The last rapid of our trip was a massive level five, one of the strongest in the area. Even before the rapid began the raft was being tossed left to right. The river was beginning to slope downward. The upcoming horror was within plain sight. Massive rock formations rose up on both sides with water crashing around them. There were about four or more holes swirling around in random placements. One was right in the middle. The raft was going to go through it. I took in a deep breath and squeezed my eyes shut.

The first bump sent my body straight up into the air. I flung my body towards the inside of the raft and locked my foot into place. Crisis averted for the moment. The guide yelled orders: Lean left. Lean right. Paddle. At one point the raft was almost sideways while in the air. It seemed as though the raft would end upside down for sure. A quick lean to the opposite side was good enough to correct it, fortunately. As we hit the hole it the middle our raft shot straight up into the air a good three or four feet, landing (luckily) right side up. I heard a screech.

Purin was clinging to the rope yelling that she wasn't having fun anymore. The water was tugging fiercely on her. Lettuce and I quickly grabbed onto her arms and pulled her back in. She was shaken, but otherwise alright.

The raft pulled up to left side of the river where a small dock rested in the eddy. The bus was parked and waiting in the lot. It looked so wonderful. The sun was setting in the sky. It hardly seemed possible that we had done this one activity over the course of an entire day.

"Alright girls, on to the bus." Ami stretched. "We're going out to dinner and then driving on home tonight."

"I thought we had one more night of camping." Mint almost sounded disappointed.

"I don't think you realize just how far away from Tokyo we've ended up," commented Akasaka-sama drying off. "It'll take us all night and much of tomorrow to get home."

"Now I have to sleep in a bus!"


	16. All Good Things

Chapter 15: All Good Things must come to an End

"Yatta! I can't wait to see my brothers and sister again!" Purin had been bouncing up and down for the last hour or so trying every body's last ounce of patience. Zakuro had fallen asleep with her head leaning up against the window; Mint had fallen asleep and fallen onto her shoulder. They were blissfully unaware of the child's exuberance.

"Please try to calm down Purin," whispered Lettuce gently. "It's really late and people are starting to sleep." Ami glanced back at us before whispering something to Akasaka-sama. He appeared to be agreeing with her. I watched him move to the driver seat to speak with our chauffer. Something was up. I turned to ask Ryou, who was sitting beside me, but he had fallen asleep. His arms were crossed and he had that familiar pout on his face. How cute… I carefully rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes.

A little later the bus came to a stop, much to our surprise. It was dark and just a little chili. Ami stood and stretched. "Time to get off the bus girls." We looked at her curiously. "Keiichiro and I just talked it over and we think it would be nice to spend our last night in a hotel. We'll just get home a few hours later tomorrow is all." A loud 'yatta' sounded in the bus.

It may not have been the five–star hotel from before, but I sure as hell wasn't going to complain. It beat sleeping on the bus all night. Besides, there were a few of us that would remain nameless who desperately needed a shower! We waited inside the lobby while Ami checked on room availability: one room—a suite. We took it.

"I'm hungry…" Mint was acting a little grumpy since being awoken from her beauty sleep. Of course no one could say they weren't hungry too. Ami shrugged and said we could have room service bring something up. Good enough for me. Up to the top floor; down the hall; to the right; room 1615.

The woman in the lobby hadn't been kidding when she described the room as a suite. It was actually the equivalent space of two rooms—a living room and a bedroom. There was even a small kitchenette! Purin took a flying leap onto one of the queen sized beds and flipped through the T.V. channels: reruns of Ranma ½… Sailor Moon… new episodes of Inu Yasha… Fullmetal Alchemist… She flipped the T.V. off. Nothing good, she whined _(a/n I LOVE those shows!)_. That's when Ami mentioned the arcade in a room off of the lobby. We all looked at each other. 1.8 seconds later, we were down there.

Purin and Ami quickly engaged in a game of air hockey, which they both played valiantly. Five goals with the two of them would take some time. Akasaka-sama and Retasu were involved in a game of ping-pong. I walked over to Ryou who was watching Mint and Zakuro's heated DDR battle. Both girls being dancers meant an incredible competition.

"You should try that game Ichigo." I knew he was teasing me. I was a lousy dancer.

"Why would she want to make a fool of herself Shirogane?" Mint smirked at me as Zakuro stepped down to get a drink.

"Not all of us can have years of ballet under our belt," I retorted.

"Aw come on, what have you got to lose?" She was egging me on at this point.

"My dignity, my pride, my self-confidence, my lunch…" I went down the list as I climbed onto the dance mat in defeat. It did kind of look like fun.

"This is so not fun!" I cried tripping over my own feet. Mint stepped back and laughed at me. "The music was too fast Mint… isn't there a slower song on the play list?"

"You still want to try?" Her expression was somewhere between surprised and amused. I was furious with her for laughing at me, but I nodded. We stood in front of the monitors, ready to go again. "Hey Ichigo," Mint whispered without taking her eyes off the screen. "Just follow the arrow keys and don't put a lot of thought into it. You'll do better." I looked at her and smiled. She really could be nice when she wanted to be. Her advice worked well. The calmer I was, the better I did. As the song ended, she congratulated me.

"Not bad for a beginner Ichigo. Maybe in a few years, you won't lose." She winked at me. I couldn't be mad at her. I only smiled and retorted I'd practice so I could take her down. She laughed. It was about this time that Akasaka-sama rounded us all up. Time to hit the sack.

"Hey Ichigo." Ryou draped his arm over my shoulders and pulled me to him. I blushed. "Good job back there."

"I lost."

"Clearly," he replied jokingly. "But you tried, even after failing. I'm proud of you." I blushed and thanked him.

"Now do that at work." He should have stopped a sentence earlier. I sighed.

A few weeks ago, we all would have been weird out by the idea of sleeping in such close proximities with the guys. Now it was nothing. Akasaka-sama and Ryou were sleeping on the floor. The rest of us crowded into the two beds. I'd gotten so used to this… I wondered how I was going to sleep alone once I got home.

The bus left the hotel parking lot at seven a.m. sharp. Most of us were still half asleep, but leaving any later would make us arrive home way too late in the evening. The bus was supposed to drop each of us off at our own respective houses. About an hour outside of Tokyo, Ami left us. It was a sad goodbye. We'd all become attached to her. Especially me. Still, she had to return home; just like the rest of us. One by one we all left the bus. I was the last one off. Ryou walked me to the door. He told Akasaka-sama he'd meet him back at the café.

"Did you have fun?" He seemed rather nervous as we walked up the walk. It was amusing. He'd been to my home several times before. Perhaps he was scared of Dad. I gave his hand a quick squeeze.

"A wonderful time." I leaned in for a goodbye kiss.

"What's going on out here!" The door flung open. Mom was smiling pleasantly as she held back Dad. Ryou jumped a mile back. I'll see you at work was all I heard him say as he hightailed it out of the area. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Welcome home honey!" Mom waved at me excitedly. I dropped my bags and ran straight into her arms. I was never so happy to be home. "So tell me all about the trip… and this cute blonde guy… are you two a couple?" She led me towards the living room.

"She's too young to date!" Dad called after us shutting the front door.

THE END


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